Just finished an audit for a manufacturing client in Atlanta and nearly walked away without catching their biggest issue. Georgia Power had been billing them under Schedule PL-1 but their actual demand pattern qualified them for Schedule PL-3 which would have saved them about $15K per month. The mistake? I focused so hard on the energy charges that I almost glossed over the demand billing analysis. Caught it on my final review thank goodness. Always do that second pass on demand charges folks - the devil is in those details.
Almost missed $180K in demand charges - lesson learned
Rachel that's a great catch! I had something similar happen with FirstEnergy here in Cleveland. Client was on a TOU rate but their load factor was terrible during peak hours. Switching them to a straight demand rate saved them $8K monthly. The lesson for me was to always run multiple rate scenarios, not just assume the current tariff is optimal.
ComEd territory here - I see this all the time with manufacturing clients. They get put on whatever rate the utility recommends during initial service setup but never revisit it as their operations change. I always tell my clients to flag any significant changes in production schedules or equipment additions so we can reassess their rate structure.
Similar thing happened to me with MLGW last year. Manufacturing client had been on Rate Schedule M for five years but their demand profile had changed completely after they added a new production line. Switching to Rate Schedule L saved them $22K annually. The utility never proactively suggested the change of course.
IPL has some quirky demand billing rules that caught me off guard once. They calculate demand differently for certain industrial customers based on the time of day. Almost missed a $30K annual savings because I was using the standard demand calculation. Now I always double-check the tariff footnotes and special provisions.
Great points everyone. I've started creating a checklist for every audit now - demand rate analysis, power factor review, tariff optimization, seasonal variations, special provisions. Takes an extra hour but has saved my clients hundreds of thousands over the past year.
NV Energy has some really complex demand ratchet provisions that I missed early in my career. Cost a casino client about $50K in potential savings. Now I graph out the demand patterns over 24 months to spot any ratchet issues. Visual analysis really helps catch these problems.
Kim that's smart - I've started doing the same thing. The visual representation makes it so much easier to spot anomalies and opportunities. Plus clients understand it better when you can show them graphs instead of just spreadsheet numbers.